The District of Columbia’s attorney general is taking
legal action against Facebook, accusing the company of misleading users and
failing to protect their data.

In a court
document filed in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia,
the attorney general points to the Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which a
political research firm misappropriated tens of millions of users’ data, as
well as its special data-sharing agreements with certain “partner
companies,” as examples of how the company allegedly violated the
district’s Consume Protection Procedures Act.

The legal action comes after a horrendous year for
Facebook, which is reeling from multiple scandals — from privacy issues to its
role in the spread of hate speech amid genocide in Myanmar.

The case also comes immediately after a bombshell
investigation from The New York Times into how Facebook gave certain select
partners access to users’ data, including private messages, even when users
tried to lock down their privacy settings.

Facebook’s stock was down around 5% on Wednesday.

DC alleges that Facebook failed to make timely
disclosures about the Cambridge Analytica breach, and “instead profited
from [app developer Aleksandr] Kogan’s and Cambridge Analytica’s misuse of this
stolen data by selling millions of dollars of advertising space to Cambridge
Analytica and presidential candidate campaigns during the 2016 election.”

In prepared remarks shared with journalists, DC Attorney
Feneral Karl Racine said: “In our lawsuit, we are seeking to hold Facebook
accountable for jeopardizing and exposing the personal information of tens of
millions of its users. We are also seeking to require Facebook to develop new
protocols that will safeguard users’ data to ensure this never happens again.
Lastly, we are also seeking restitution for the consumers who have been hurt as
well as appropriate fines and penalties.”

Reached for comment, Facebook spokesperson Monique Hall
provided the following statement: “We’re reviewing the complaint and look
forward to continuing our discussions with attorneys general in DC and
elsewhere.”